I Can See
by L. Jane Langner
Summary: Pony's dreams are more than what they seem.
1. Chapter 1

"Come on bro, I'll drop you off since Darry ain't feeling well," Soda said sliding his shoes on. Pony grabbed his bag and followed his brother out the front door. "I think he's just catching a 24 hour bug or something. It is time for allergies again." The brothers slid into the truck and Soda started it. The day seemed to go downhill already as Pony noticed how dark the sky was.

"Is there suppose to be a storm?"

Soda shrugged, "Looks like one could happen, or rain at least. Hopefully that relaxes Darry enough to sleep today." Ponyboy peered out the window into the sky. The clouds seemed to be picking up speed. This was going to be an intense storm. "Woah!" Soda gasped as wind suddenly pushed it's way through, "You might be late to school." Soda put little pressure on the brake as he steadied the truck down the street. The brothers watched as small debris flew across the street. Trees bent further and further each minute.

"Maybe we should go back home until this passes," Pony suggested. Before Soda could respond, rain suddenly pounded the windshield.

"Damn!" Soda yelled above the poundings. The rain made it too loud to communicate as the wind made it difficult to control the truck. "I can barely see the road!"

"Pull over!" Pony yelled.

A bright flash blinded both boys momentarily. Soda pressed the brake more as he rubbed the spots out of his eyes. It wasn't too long before the thunder joined in. The truck stopped completely and the boys waited. Pony squinted his eyes trying to focus on any object, but couldn't find one. The truck shook as the wind pushed with all it's strength. The boys could only imagine what Darry was thinking right now.

It wasn't long before the storm calmed a little. The rain became steady, the lightning stopped and the boys only heard low rumbles creep through the sky. The wind was still at it's peak in destruction though.

"I think we're fine," Soda commented putting the truck back in drive.

"Are you sure?" Pony asked, "The truck is nearly tipping over as it is."

Soda smirked, "Our fat asses will balance it out." Pony tried to smile back, but he didn't have a good feeling about this. Sure they could see just fine, but the wind was pushing on the truck, let alone throwing debris against the side of it. Once they reached a more open road away from the neighborhood, they saw it. A cloud increasing it's movement as it spiraled downwards. "Oh shit!" Soda cursed as the boys watched the tornado form. He threw the truck back in park. "Get down!" The boys lowered themselves in the truck as much as possible covering their heads.

Pony felt himself shake as he heard the winds push from every which way. Sticks and rocks and god knows what else pounded the truck. Fear grew in the boys as everything grew louder and stronger. Slowly Ponyboy looked up towards the window. He couldn't see anything. He had a feeling the tornado was right at them though. Suddenly one jolt pushed the truck over onto the driver's side. Pony held himself still for a moment as gravity tried pulling him down. The windows had cracked as the wind blew against Pony's face.

"Soda!" Pony yelled. No answer. He slowly turned his head and saw Soda had hit the window and was now against the driver's door and the street. "Sodapop!" Pony yelled again. No answer. No movement besides Soda's hair blowing in the wind. Pony wanted to cry. He was on his own in this storm.

He turned back to look up and suddenly he saw an object flying through the air. It was coming right at him. It was a tire from someone's vehicle. Pony tried to move quickly against the wind. Before he had a chance to escape though, the wind shoved Pony further down. He was stuck. The tire was about to slam right into his face.

"No!" Pony yelled throwing himself up. It was dark. His room was quiet and calm. Swear dripped down his forehead.

"Ponyboy?" Soda sat up and began rubbing his younger brother's back, "Are you okay? What happened?"

Pony took deep breaths, "Just...just a dream."

"What was it?" Soda asked with a yawn, "You were really loud this time."

The bedroom door peered open and Darry poked his head in, "Is everything okay?"

"Nightmare," Soda answered. Darry walked in and sat at the end of the bed.

"It must have been a rough one," Darry commented.

Pony slightly nodded, "I'm okay."

"Was it mom and dad?" Darry asked.

Pony shook his head, "I'm fine. It was just scary, nothing to worry over." Pony lay back down. Both brothers took his word and began to go back to bed. Darry let out a hacking cough before leaving the room. Pony sat back up, "Are you sick?"

Darry shook his head, "Naw, just a throat tickle." Pony lay back down and tried relaxing himself.

The next morning Pony heard his name being called. He got up, got dressed and headed downstairs. He was the only one downstairs as he ate the breakfast that was on the table. Pony figured his older brothers were talking about last night. It really wasn't anything to worry about. Just spooked the younger brother.

Footsteps were heard coming down the stairs. Pony put his dishes in the sink and walked out to get ready to leave.

"Come on bro, I'll drop you off since Darry ain't feeling well," Soda said sliding his shoes on.


	2. Chapter 2

Pony froze. He must be high or something. Soda said that exact same thing in his dream. Soda was giving him a ride because Darry was sick in his dream too. Pony shook his head while at the kitchen door. What was going on? This must just be a coincidence. With a chill going up his spine, Pony turned and looked out the window. The sky had some clouds, but nothing threatening. Then again, tornadoes did suddenly happen at times. Ponyboy shook it off. This was stupid. It was just a dream. Everyone experienced simlarities with their dreams and reality, right?

Ponyboy walked towards the front door where Soda waited, "Do you know what the weather is going to be like?" What did he ask that for? Pony pushed his fear away. It was just a dream.

Soda slightly laughed, "Why would I watch the weather? It comes as it comes, you know?"

"Yeah," Pony said quietly. Soda opened the door, but stopped as Pony didn't move a muscle. Mentally he kept telling himself to get in the truck and just go to school, just get in and go on with your day. Pony told himself he was just letting his dream take over his life, just like his nightmare with his parent's.

"Why do you ask?"

Pony shook his head, "Nothing."

Soda stared for a minute, "Are you sure nothing's wrong?"

Pony didn't want to blame his behavior on a dream, Soda and Darry would take medical action if they had to worry about another dream, so he just replied, "Nothing. I'm okay." He followed Soda towards the truck. "What's wrong with Darry?"

"I think he's just catching a 24 hour bug or something. It is time for allergies again." Pony jerked his head and stared at his brother. Soda had said that in his dream too. Now Pony was even more edgy. He watched Soda get in the truck, but Pony stayed outside the passenger door. Just get in and go. "What? Did you forget how to open the door?"

Pony seemed frozen in that spot. "Come on or you'll be late." He began looking pale to Soda. He got out of the truck and walked around. He placed a hand on Pony's forehead. "Are you feeling okay? Are you sick too?"

Pony opened his mouth, but shut it. There was no way he was going to explain the truth to Soda. He would just drive him to a psych ward. Pony had to choose his words carefully. "I...I just have a bad feeling about this."

"Do you have a test or something?" Soda asked, "You're never usually this nervous over a test."

Pony shook his head, "No, I really don't think we should go on the road. Not yet anyway."

"Go on the road? What does that even mean?"

"I don't think we should drive yet, or even be outside," Pony quickly explained looking at the sky again. It still looked calm and steady.

"Why?" Soda asked, "What are you hiding?"

"I'm not hiding anything," Pony said beginning to step away from the truck, "I just have a bad feeling about driving right now."

"I'm not a bad driver Pony, it won't kill you that Darry isn't driving you this time," Soda joked. Pony obviously wasn't talking his way out of it. He would just have to take action with it. He turned and walked towards the house. "Pony, what is going on?" Soda followed Ponyboy into the house.

"Can we please just wait?" Pony asked pacing the living room.

"No, because then we will both be late. And..."

Before Soda could finish his sentence, they both noticed how quickly the sunlight faded from the windows. "God no," Pony said approaching the window, "This can't be happening. No this isn't happening."

"What are you..." Soda began asking, but then heard a strong wind push itself through the neighborhood, "Get away from the window!" Soda pulled Pony away as the storm quickly grew.

"Soda! Pony!" Darry yelled hurrying down the stairs, "Thank god you guys didn't leave!" The brothers hurried into the bathroom and waited in there.

"Wow this storm is intense," Soda commented.

"I saw the tornado out my window," Darry said, "I was so scared, I thought you guys had already left."

"We were about to, but Pony..." Soda began remembering everything Pony said to keep them from leaving, and had an eerie feeling to all he had said.


	3. Chapter 3

Darry was fast asleep. He was too exhausted to look at everything. Pony and Soda sat in the backyard looking at the damage. Trees were broke, some houses were damaged. Thankfully their house wasn't touched, besides sticks being thrown against it.

"You had a bad feeling about leaving, and then a tornado comes through. There was no way you knew about this," Soda commented, "No one can just predict a tornado like that."

Pony shrugged, "I don't really understand it either. I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" Soda asked.

Pony shrugged again.

"Pony, listen, I'm not mad or anything like that. I'm rather thankful we weren't hurt. But how did you get this bad feeling?" Soda asked, "How did you know something bad was going to happen?"

"I didn't think something bad was going to happen, I was...I don't know, I just knew a tornado was coming, not that something was going to happen, specifically a tornado. And if we were on the road, we would have died," Pony explained playing with a stick.

"But how did you know?" Soda asked, urging for an answer. Ponyboy stayed silent. "Pony, you can tell me, you know that."

"Would you tell Darry?" Pony asked. He didn't know why he was worried about Darry knowing. He just didn't want Darry to really know yet.

Soda sighed, "We've talked about this before Pony. I've told you that I can't promise I won't ever tell Darry things, because if it's serious then I do have to tell him."

"That's just it though, I don't know if this is serious or something that just happened. A coincidence you know?" Pony asked.

"Well," Soda began, "Do you think it's just a coincidence that you knew?"

"I don't know," Pony answered, "I really don't know what to think of it."

"Just tell me how you knew, or why you knew," Soda begged, "Just tell me what's going on and I'll help you decide if you it's something to worry over or not."

Pony nodded. He knew Soda could help. He was the best person to talk to and could be smart when it came time to be. "I had a dream last night."

"About a tornado?" Soda asked.

"Not just the tornado," Pony said, "There were so many similarities it's scary to me. You had to drive me to school, because Darry was sick. The way you said it this morning was exactly how you said it in my dream, word for word. Except in the dream, me and you left and the tornado came. It was so strong, it tipped the truck over and that killed you. I was going to die from a tire flying through the air and landing on me, but before it hit me I woke up."

Soda felt a slight shiver run through him, "Was that the nightmare from last night? When you woke up screaming?"

Pony nodded, "And this morning there were some things you said that were exactly how you said them in my dream. Everything was just happening the same way, little details, and it scared me, because I remembered we both died and..."

Soda pulled his little brother close, "I'm sorry Pony. I don't think you should worry though. I think maybe it was just something that saved us, it wasn't our time to go so you had a dream that saved us."

"So, you're not going to tell Darry?" Pony asked.

Soda thought for a moment and shook his head, "It's kind of creepy, but I think we can let it go and just be thankful we were saved." The boys heard their front door open and footsteps walk through the house out the backdoor.

"Well, it's good to see you're all in good shape," Two-Bit commented.

"How's your place?" Soda asked.

"A couple windows are busted. Steve's house is destroyed though."

"You're kidding," Soda said.

Two-Bit shook his head, "I don't even think he knows yet. He wasn't there."

"He had to go into work early," Soda said, "He had to have been at work before the storm hit. His house is that bad?"

Two-Bit nodded, "I drove by and a tree fell right on it. His dad's truck was in the driveway, but I don't know where his dad is."

"Oh no, Steve's not going to be happy when he gets home. Maybe I should get to work and check on him there."

"Did you see Johnny's place?" Pony asked.

Two-Bit nodded, "Wasn't touched. Where's Darry?"

"He's sick," Soda answered, "You guys want to come to the DX and check on the place?" The boys nodded and headed outside. They piled into Two-Bit's car and headed for the DX. The brothers hadn't seen past their house of the damages. Some houses had it bad while others weren't touched.

"It's amazing how a house can be destroyed, but then the one next to it just has a couple scratches or dents," Two-Bit commented.

"Drive by Steve's house, I want to see it before we get there," Soda said. Two-Bit turned into Steve's neighborhood and parked the car in front of his house. The brothers were shocked. Two-Bit was right, there was a tree right on top crushing the top part of the house. There was almost nothing left of the house. "His dad's truck is still here," Soda commented. The boys looked at each other, all thinking the same thing.

"Do you really think we should check?" Two-Bit asked.

Soda shrugged, "Maybe we should make sure he's okay, at least not dead."

"Like Steve would care," Two-Bit commented.

"Guys, let's just go. He could be drunk and violent, so let's just go," Pony said. Two-Bit drove off and headed back towards the DX.

The gas station looked fine. Steve was pulling branches away from the gas pumps and the parking lot. The boys stepped out of the car.

"Hey guys, hows everything look out in the nighborhoods?" Steve asked.

"Well," Two-Bit began shrugging, "Soda's house is barely touched, neither is mine or Johnny's. Some houses got it good though."

"Did you pass my house?" Steve asked. Two-Bit nodded. "How is it?" Two-Bit shook his head.

"It's not too good bud," Soda answered.

"How bad?" Steve asked.

Soda ran a hand through his hair, "A tree fell right on top of your house. There really isn't much left of it."

"What!" Steve yelled.

"I'm sorry Steve," Soda said. He wasn't sure what else to say to his best friend. "You know you can stay with us bud."

Steve slowly nodded, "Was my dad there?"

"Well," Two-Bit began, "We saw his truck, but we don't know if he's there or what's going on."

"Well let's go, I have to make sure he's okay," Steve said getting his keys out of his pants pocket.

"Steve, why do you even..." Two-Bit began, but Soda turned and stopped him from finishing. Steve headed for his car while Pony and Soda went back to Two-Bit's. "Seriously, why does he care?" Two-Bit said angrily.

"Two-Bit, he cares okay? Just leave him be."


	4. Chapter 4

"Steve you can stay here as long as you need to," Darry said throwing blankets and a pillow on the living room couch.

"Thanks guys, I don't know how long that will be though," Steve said, "My dad wasn't home and I don't know where he is."

"Well if you annoy us too much we will just put you in the garage," Soda smiled.

"Yeah, that's what we did with Soda when he was younger," Darry commented.

"Will you be going back to work tomorrow?" Steve asked, "I bet the roofing site is ruined, unless the house you were at wasn't touched."

"I still feel pretty nasty, but I took a good dose of pills and liquids, so hopefully tomorrow morning I'll at least feel a little better," Darry said.

All the boys said good night to each other and went off to bed. Pony was worried to sleep. He didn't want to have another nightmare like that, especially if it came out to be 'dejavu' again.

"Soda," Pony whispered.

"Hmm?"

"I can't sleep."

"Because of your dream?" Soda asked.

"It's still kind of creepy. If I have a nightmare tonight, one that's worse, I'm going to be worried all day for it to happen," Pony explained.

"I doubt it Pony, it was just a coincidence. It's not like tornadoes are something that don't usually happen, especially in Oklahoma."

Pony yawned, "I guess you're right."

"Just don't worry so much over it. Get some sleep," Soda said, "If you have a nightmare, wake me up and tell me what happened. It could be something that would never happen you know?"

"Alright," Pony said. He was really tired. It had been a long day for everyone. As worried as he was, he somehow drifted off to a deep sleep.

The morning sky was bright and calm. No clouds, just the shinging sun. Steve and Soda took a walk to Steve's house. No one had gone inside yet, although that wasn't a good idea to do so. When they arrived, the truck was still in the driveway.

"Do you really think he could still be in there?" Steve asked.

Soda shrugged, "I don't know. Where else would he be if his truck is still here?"

"A friend's house, I don't know," Steve replied.

"Do you think it's safe to go inside?" Soda asked as the two approached the house.

"Maybe not, I just want to take a couple steps in. Not like there is anything to get," Steve said pushing the front door out of the way. Steve picked up a couple branches and got inside with Soda at his heel. The inside was just as expected. Things were broken or damaged or moved into other rooms. No sign of Steve's dad though.

"Soda look," Steve pointed, "The stairs." Steve hurried over to the stairs that lead to the second floor.

"Steve are you crazy! Those won't hold," Soda said. He scurried over to stop Steve from taking a step.

Steve looked up, "Some of the floor is still there." Steve put a foot on the bottom step and kicked at it. "No cracking or snapping."

"Steve, this is stupid. You know those stairs will collapse from not even five pounds of weight," Soda warned, "You are not going up there. Your dad is definitely not up there."

"You don't know that," Steve pointed out going up the first three steps. Creaks were heard and Soda waited for the stairs to give in.

"Steve! Get back here!" Soda yelled, "You won't be able to get anything."

"I just want to see," Steve said continuing up the stairs. Soda wanted to run up and pull him back down, but knew it was an even worse idea to go up with him.

"Steve, don't be stupid. If the stairs give in you could break the floor too and end up in the basement and get hurt," Soda said.

"You worry too much," Steve said reaching the top. He looked around and saw almost nothing of the top floor. He saw branches and debris everywhere and the split the tree made.

"Steve, please come back down," Soda begged.

Suddenly heavy breathing was heard and cracking sticks. Ponyboy pushed his way into the house sweating and catching his breath.

"Ponyboy, what's wrong?" Soda asked.

"Where's Steve?" Pony asked. Before anyone could answer, a loud snap was heard. In a second more snaps were heard and a big crack was heard. The stairs were falling with Steve.

"Steve!" Soda yelled as he watched his best friend fall to the floor and break through to the basement. Wood was everywhere and there wasn't a sound from the floor below. "Steve!" Soda yelled again running over to the gap. He looked down and waited for the dust to break apart.

"Oh god, Steve answer me! Say anything!" Soda yelled. Pony ran over to the door that lead to the basement. "Pony don't go down! I don't need you testing the stairs either!" Soda yelled in a panic. Pony froze and watched his brother cautiously leap to the basement through the gap. He walked over and watched down the hole. Soda approached Steve and shook him.

"Buddy come on, answer me. Talk to me. Tell me you're okay, come on Steve damnit!" Soda leaned into Steve's chest. It wasn't moving. "Steve, breathe! Breathe, come on," Soda whimpered, "Breathe! Damnit breathe now!"

"Soda!" Pony yelled.

Soda started pushing onto Steve's chest, "You're going to be okay Steve. You're going to be just fine. Pony go get help! See if the phone works and call Darry!"

Pony got up and ran over to the nearest phone dodging every object on the floor. He picked up the phone and dialed his number. Nothing was heard. "Damn!" Pony cursed. A sound was heard. Pony was frozen still waiting for another sound, but nothing was heard.

He turned to walk back, but then what he saw horrified him to stop. The tree broke through the rest of the floor and landed right on the gap. All the floorboards either went in the gap or on the floor. Pony ran over. "Soda!" No answer.

"Soda are you okay!"

No answer.

The moon was in Pony's view next. He sat up quickly and looked around. He was in his room, in his bed, in a cold sweat. Turning, Soda was sound asleep in bed.

"Oh god no," Pony whispered, "That...no it won't happen. Just relax." Pony soothed himself.

"It's not going to happen. You worried yourself into another nightmare, it's okay." After a few breaths, Pony calmed himself back to sleep.


End file.
